At the time of "The Locomotion" Little Eva's (Eva Narcissus Boyd) weekly salary was $50 plus expenses. Her previous job was a $35-a-week live-in nanny for composers Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Little Eva included the King-Goffin tune "Up on the Roof" as a track on the LP LLLLLoco-Motion, in late 1962.

"Up on the Roof" hit the top ten for the Drifters in 1963 and featured Carole King on piano.